As we were driving around Amman the other night and the jolly Christmas lights and decorations glared from the balconies of apartments and doors of homes, my friend wondered out loud why there’s so much emphasis on Christmas but not on Eid Al-Adha. My initial response was not all that well thought out as I […]

The Guardian has run an interesting photo story of “Guerrilla Artist” Banksy’s latest graffiti work on Israel’s illegal wall that winds through the West Bank. Banksy left his mark on the wall back in 2005 and has come back with other graffiti artists, in order to promote some tourist action in Bethlehem during the Christmas […]

From Amman’s sister city, the Trio Chicago and Friends played a lengthy program that included Bernstein and Ellington at the Cultural Center last night. It was a great show. And now, A little bit of Porter to lighten the mood…

addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.black-iris.com%2F2007%2F11%2F13%2Ftrio-chicago-play-amman%2F’;
addthis_title = […]

Last night I had the pleasure of travelling on what can best be called “performance art”. In reality, picture a large shipping truck, and instead of cargo in the container, you have 3 rows of theater seating. Instead of a cold container metallic wall, there are white screens that play a documentary, and every now […]

Last night the Amman Symphony Orchestra performed its first concert for the 2007-2008 season. Josep Vincent of Spain was the guest conductor with 22 year-old piano virtuoso, Lulu Yang of China on piano. The concert was pretty phenomenal as it was my first time seeing the Amman Symphony Orchestra play. My favorite pieces included the […]

Bab il-7ara was a big hit this year during Ramadan, and in fact people still seem to be talking about it in Jordan. I’ll admit right off the bat that I was too busy to watch more than 4 or 5 whole episodes but I found it astonishing to see the wide spectrum of people […]

Eid il-Fitr, just like the holy month that precedes it, is naturally a religious holiday and celebration. In Islam, there is an entire list of “Eid Etiquette” rules or guidelines to follow and many of those rules have become embedded in the way we celebrate the day. The sunnah (way of the Prophet pbuh) outlines […]

I, along with everyone else, have a completely different definition of what friendship is and what it embodies. So many of the people I know personally are mentally categorized as mere acquaintances. But lately I’ve been wondering more and more about friendships formed online and the protocols that come along with them. We seem to […]

I’ve been wondering lately which sex in Jordan uses wasta (nepotism) more. Females or males? And I’m talking about the instigators and not just the pawns. See, most would be quick to say males but if you think outside your immediate environment for a moment, I’ve observed a lot of elderly women living in towns […]

…Waiters at several coffee shops in the capital said the popularity of argileh increases “greatly” in Ramadan.
“Demand on argileh triples in Ramadan. Some young people who come to the Ramadan tents order argileh just to try it,” one waiter in a neighbourhood in west Amman told The Jordan Times.
But Bassem Hijjawi, director of the disease […]

Why does every thing seem to slow down during Ramadan?
Lunatic drivers seem to be the only people going fast these days, both before and after breakfast. Banks, who with their typical 9 to 3 hours already make it hard for customers to bank, seem to close shop before they even open, with their 9 […]

Since this is my first Ramadan in Jordan since 2000, I thought I’d share a thought or two. First of all, I’ve been having difficulties reconciling with this new environment where religion interacts with culture. West Amman is like an odd sample in the petri dish. Nothing about this place adds up or makes sense. […]

I have the pleasure of working with one of the best photographers and graphic designers in Jordan, Faridon Abida. He’s not only the friendliest person you’ll ever meet, but also the warmest and funniest. It’s been great watching him design away these past few months, often times burning the midnight oil as he clicks away […]

Emad Hajjaj does, what I personally consider, the best social commentaries on Ramadan in the Arab world, especially in Jordan. They portray Jordanian society in all its aspects. From the workplace environment with the angry boss who hasn’t had a cigarette, to setting new working hours according to who’s fasting and who’s not, to the […]

I first passed by Readers a few weeks ago, in July, soon after they launched on the day the last Harry Potter book came out. At the time, I was impressed but I didn’t get the chance to really browse through the place. First of all, it’s easily accessible which I love, especially when compared […]

Last night the Al-Hussein Cultural Center hosted Sacromonte, a Flamenco concert, organized by the Spanish Institute in Amman. It was a stellar performance that left everyone applauding endlessly. It was composed by a group of young artists who have strongly influenced in the Andalusian and Spanish flamenco panorama in the last years. The Sacromonte quartet […]